Hermione Granger: Accidental Champion
by livesonwisteria
Summary: When Barty Crouch tries to put Harry's name in the Goblet, he makes a mistake that changes the whole of fourth year.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Some text is taken directly from The Goblet Of Fire…

A/N: Some text is taken directly from The Goblet Of Fire…

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp upswing in the level of noise within the hall, which died away almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his fee. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as anyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr Crouch, however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

'_Well, the Goblet is almost ready to make its decision,' said Dumbledore. 'I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through to the next chamber' – he indicated the door behind the staff table – 'where they will be receiving their first instruction.' _

_He took out his wand and gave a great sweeping wave with it; at once, all the candles except those inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging them all into a state of semi-darkness. The Goblet of Fire now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful on the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting… a few people kept checking their watches. _

'_Any second,' Lee Jordan whispered, two seats away from Harry._

_The flames inside the Goblet suddenly turned red again. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it – the whole room gasped._

_Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arms length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had turned from black to blue white._

'_The champion for Durmstrang,' he read in a strong, clear voice, 'will be Viktor Krum.'_

'_No surprises there!' yelled Ron, as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Harry saw Viktor Krum rise from the Slytherin table, and slouch up towards Dumbledore; he turned right, walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber. _

'_Bravo, Viktor!' boomed Karakoff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over all the applause. 'Knew you had it in you!'_

_The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was again focused on the Goblet, which seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by flames. _

'_The champion for Beauxbatons,' said Dumbledore, 'is Fleur Delacour!'_

'_It's her, Ron!' Harry shouted, as the girl who so resembled a veela got gracefully to her feet, shook back her sheet of silvery hair blonde hair and swept up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. _

'_Oh, look, they're all disappointed,' Hermione said over the noise, nodding towards the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. 'Disappointed' was a bit of an understatement, Harry thought. Two of the girls who had not been selected had dissolved into tears, an were sobbing with their heads in their arms. _

_When Fleur Delacour, too, had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff you could taste it. The Hogwarts champion next…_

_And the Goblet of Fire turned red once more, sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air, and from its tip Dumbledore pulled the third piece of parchment. _

'_The Hogwarts champion,' he called, 'is Cedric Diggory!'_

'_No!' said Ron loudly, but no one heard him except Harry; the uproar from the next table was too great. Every single Hufflepuff jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past him, grinning broadly, and headed off towards the chamber behind the teachers table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric was so loud, it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again. _

'_Excellent!' Dumbledore called happily, as at last the tumult died down. 'Well, we now have our three champions. I m sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. B cheering your champion, you will contribute in a very real way –'_

_But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him._

_The fire in the Goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment._

_Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and started at the name on it, his eyes widening in shock. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and read out – _

'Hermione Granger,'

A/N: I will be updating very soon, please review, and also tell em your ideas, what other people think, which friends will support Hermione, etc.


	2. Chapter 2

Previously,

Previously,

_Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and started at the name on it, his eyes widening in shock. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and read out – _

'Hermione Granger,'

-&-

"What?" whispered Hermione in absolute shock, aware that the entire hall was now staring at her. How could this happen, you had to put your name in to be picked for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and she hadn't wanted to, indeed she hadn't even thought about it let alone done it.

Harry and Ron were looking at her rather strangely, but Ron more than Harry.

"How could you do this?" hissed Ron.

Harry, meanwhile simply pointed out – "I believe you didn't put your name in, you couldn't anyway,"

Up at the staff table, teachers were bent over in hurried discussion about Hermione and what should be done, they could see Professor Dumbledore talking to Professor McGonagall in hushed tones, and even Snape was talking, to Professor Flitwick, with a slight sneer on his face. Hermione caught his eye and then quickly looked away.

The silence was becoming unbearable, and Hermione was wishing that they would hurry up and make a decision, so that she could know what her fate was. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to participate in the Tournament, she knew how dangerous it was. Death was actually sort of likely.

Glancing up at the staff table again, she saw that the talking between the staff had mainly stopped, and she decided that this must mean that they had come to some sort of decision. Dumbledore looked at her with his normal twinkle, but with added curiosity. Professor McGonagall nodded to him.

"Hermione Granger, if you please. The other champions are waiting," called out Professor McGonagall, gesturing for Hermione to go into the side chamber as the other champions had.

With a jolt, Hermione got up rather shakily, feeling really nervous. She stumbled along past the long house table that all of her housemates sat at, and then along next to the staff table, before hesitantly entering the room.

-&-

When she went through the door, six sets of eyes were instantly on her, Fleur, Viktor, Cedric, Madame Maxime, Professor Karakoff and Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall had followed her in.

"What is she doing in here?" asked Fleur, in a strong French accent. "Only the Champions are allowed in here, little girl."

Quite annoyed by Fleur's patronizing tone, on impulse Hermione said – "Well, maybe I _am_ a champion,"

"What?" said Cedric in a shocked tone, Fleur and Viktor were clearly shocked as well. "But I'm the Hogwarts champion though, there can't be two champions for one school."

"Well, Mr Diggory, it looks as if there is," said Professor McGonagall in a stern tone.

"That is not fair, Hogwarts had an advantage," said Professor Karakoff with a scowl.

"Yes," said Madame Maxime, nodding, she agreed. "This girl has cheated. Why does Beauxbatons not have two champions as well?"

"I'm afraid that the Goblet will not be able to bring up more names until this tournament has been completed, Madame Maxime," said Professor Dumbledore.

"And," said Professor McGonagall, clearly annoyed at the treatment of her favorite student. "Maybe you should ask Hermione for her side of the story, before you start accusing her of cheating to get into the tournament. She is the brightest witch of her year, and she has never been in trouble since she arrived."

"I agree," said Professor Dumbledore, nodding. "Now, Miss Granger did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"

"N-no," said Hermione in a shaky voice, hoping that he would believe her.

"Did you ask an older student to do it for you?" he asked.

"No," she said, gaining confidence.

"Well, then," said Professor Dumbledore. "Miss Granger's word is good enough for me. Ludo, if you can start off with the information that the champions will need to receive."

Objections started to occur, but Dumbledore quickly silenced them.

"Well," said Ludo Bagman, seeming happy for some odd reason that Hermione didn't know, as far as she was concerned, there was nothing good about this. "The first task is designed to test your daring, and because of this, we will not be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is very important. It will take place on the twenty-fourth of November, in front of the other students, and a panel of judges. You are not permitted to ask for, or accept help from your teacher to complete the tasks. You will be armed with only your wand for the first task, anything else is not allowed. You will receive information about the other tasks once the first one is over. Because of the time consuming nature of this tournament, you will be exempt from end of year tests."

Dumbledore then dismissed them, and Hermione walked off to the common room in a daze.

Her last thought before she opened the door, was the realization that she wouldn't be doing the end of year tests! Harry and Ron would never let her live this down…


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione walked up to the Gryffindor tower, along deserted corridors and lonely flights of stairs seeing no one at all

Hermione walked up to the Gryffindor tower, along deserted corridors and lonely flights of stairs seeing no one at all. She didn't however notice this, as she was too busy contemplating why she was competing in a tournament she hadn't wanted to, especially when it was a dangerous as this one was, and trying to figure out how she would survive it.

At a time like this, she really needed some support, and as her best friends for three years now, she had totally expected Harry and Ron to give her their full support and nothing else, just as she would do for them in a heartbeat. It seemed as if she was right, she had always thought of Harry as the more loyal one, even though Ron's family had a history of being so loyal to their own family and friends. It looked as if Harry would be the one to support her, as, he just seemed confused when her name was read out just as she was, but Ron looked positively betrayed, as if he actually believed that she had put her name into the goblet.

She walked round a corner deep in thought, and went straight into and then through the Bloody Baron, someone who had never liked her, he didn't like the fact that a Gryffindor muggleborn had managed to beat just about all the Slytherins academically.

"Watch where you're going _champion_," snarled the ghost. "You really must have a thing against Slytherin."

"_What?_" asked Hermione, confused for once.

"The champion should have been a Slytherin," replied The Bloody Baron.

"Well, it's not like I wanted to be in this stupid tournament anyway," she said, and she walked away she could hear a snort from the baron, he clearly didn't believe her. Hopefully this wasn't the case for everyone.

Just one corridor and a flight of moving stairs later, she had arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Congratulations, dear," said the Fat Lady, smiling down at her before asking for the password.

The was password this fortnight was definitely an easy one to remember – '_Muggle_,'

"That's right," nodded the Fat Lady, before moving aside to let her in.

A/N: Sorry its short! I had nearly a whole chapter typed up but then my computer crashed.


	4. Chapter 4

It seemed a party was in full swing, there was a huge Gryffindor red and gold lion banner draped across the fire place, stream

It seemed a party was in full swing, there was a huge Gryffindor red and gold lion banner draped across the fire place, streamers and balloons were everywhere along with a table of all sorts of magical and muggle food and drink – butter beer, fanta, pumpkin juice, the odd glass of fire whisky, bertie botts beans, pumpkin pies, chocolate and cookies. People were gathered around the room in small groups, some dancing to the music coming from the wizarding wireless, some were just talking and laughing.

"Wow," said Hermione. "What's the occasion?"

Everyone turned round, noticing her.

"Surprise!" said Fred, somewhat half-heartedly.

"The occasion is that you're the champion!" said Harry with a laugh. "We're having a part for you to celebrate, it was supposed to be a surprise."

"Don't worry," said Hermione, smiling. "I was still surprised. I don't see what's good about being the champion though, I've been entered into a tournament where I could possibly die!"

"Well, you shouldn't have put your name in then, should you?" said Ron in a rather malicious tone.

Hermione gasped in spite of herself, she really should have expected this. Ron seemed to have a jealousy problem half of the time. "Ron, I an assure you that I didn't enter my name for that tournament, and I don't know how you can believe that!"

"Ron, I thought Hermione was one of your best friends. I think you should trust her," said Ginny, Ron's sister with a look of concern.

Ron gave no reply but to storm away up the stairs to the boys dormitory.

Fred shrugged. "Now we can really get the part started," he said with a grin, cranking the volume up on the wireless. "Hermione, you better make Gryffindor proud!"


	5. Chapter 5

Ginny made her way over to Hermione

Ginny made her way over to Hermione. She wasn't the best of friends with Hermione, but, had some idea of what she was like after sharing her room and a tent for three years in the summer, so she did have some sort of idea of what she was like and felt quite concerned about her. She had always seemed like a sensible sort of person apart from at the end of her first year, when Ginny wasn't even at school and had gone after the philosopher's stone, a story she had heard from Ron. Now she had been thrust into this tournament, a tournament which people had died in, in the past.

Even though he was her brother, she couldn't help but think that Ron was being slightly insensitive. If your best friend was in trouble, surely you would support them, she knew that she would support her best friend if something happened to her, Luna Lovegood, a slightly kooky but very kind Ravenclaw. She didn't know what Ron's problem was, surely if Harry had happened to be picked for the Triwizard tournament then Ron had have given him all of his support.

"Hermione," she said, pushing past Lee Jordan who was deep in discussion with Fred and George, saying about something called a canary cream. "Are you alright? I really don't know why Ron's acting this way, it seems like he has a bit of a jealousy problem."

"Yep," said Hermione. "That's exactly what I thought, it'll be best to just ignore him I think. He did the same thing last year."

"With the broomstick?"

"Yep. What do you think Fred and George are doing? They're talking over there with Lee, looking at something. It looks a bit weird," asked Hermione.

"Let's investigate," said Ginny with a glint in her eye. She walked over to the twins and Lee, fighting her way through the crowd with Hermione following her.

"Hello Ginny, Hermione," said Lee with a hidden look. Hermione and Ginny wondered what he was hiding, and Ginny asked him.

"Well," said Fred.

"We have developed a few-" said George

"Interesting joke products,"

"We're testing them,"

"On everyone,"

"Before we go into business,"

"Weasleys,"

"Wizarding,"

"Wheezes,"

Hermione glanced up at them, fighting a smile. "You really shouldn't be testing things on students you know,"

"But it's for research," protested Lee.

"We'll forgive you if you stay away from us," said Ginny, and although Hermione wasn't that sure, she didn't want to be the target of the twins pranks, so she nodded.

"Of course, we can't spoil Gryffindors chances of winning the Triwizard tournament," said George.

Fred spotted Neville walked past, and gestured him over, handing him a biscuit from the table with a small grin.

Neville took it, had a bite and then the room erupted in laughter as Neville squawked and turned into a canary.


End file.
